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 Tree-Ring Circus
by Adam Rex |
| Kindergarten-Grade 3 |
32 pages |
Harcourt |
June 2006 |
Hardcover |
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It begins innocently enough, “a seed in the ground, two rain clouds, then three… surprisingly there appears a fast-growing tree.” As a series of rhymes builds to an improbable event, the fast-growing tree is home to a few strays: a cat, three chipmunks, two sparrows, a bee, five mice and a raven.
But a traveling circus stops nearby, and clever apes unlock the cage, releasing a bevy of animals onto the limbs of the tree, among them one lion, three squirrels, a clown, a bear, an ostrich and an elephant.
Empty, the circus wagons rumble away down the hill; meanwhile, the circus animals clamor up the branches of the tree, the elephant perched on top in this unusual balancing act. Of course, it is impossible!
It’s an amazing sight: “Thirty-three animals, counting the clown, get up off the ground, without making a sound.” But then the poor tree collapses under the weight of too many creatures. Where once grew a tree, tall and strong, nothing remains but a few twigs, trampled grass and the footprints of animals who fell back to earth.
The illustrations are done by author Adam Rex. This imaginative and lively children’s book is cleverly wrought, enchanting and whimsical, elaborate and colorful, the drawings the backbone of this humorous tale. Any child will enjoy this laugh-out-loud fantasy journey again and again.
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